


A Long Path to Us

by luxrva



Category: Little Witch Academia
Genre: Diakko, F/F, Fluffy, No Angst, One Shot, Plotless, Slice of Life, akko is an idiot, and diana fixes it, neverending
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-01-05
Updated: 2019-05-22
Packaged: 2019-10-04 23:21:02
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 3
Words: 9,139
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17313749
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/luxrva/pseuds/luxrva
Summary: An endless series of fluffy (and eventually probably more) Diakko one-shots that focus on small moments in time leading up to their eventual relationship.Rating will likely go up with time.Updated at random and as I feel inspired.





	1. Flight Enhancement

**Author's Note:**

> Akko takes a "flight enhancement potion" and tries to fly. Diana finds her.

**FLIGHT ENHANCEMENT**

* * *

 

“We don't know where Akko is,” Lotte was saying from behind the partially cracked Red Team door. She shoved a few fingers underneath her glasses, skewing them across her freckled forehead, as she rubbed her sleepy eyes. “She took her broom and left.”

It was still early on Saturday morning and Diana hadn't expected for Akko to be awake, much less out and about around the Luna Nova grounds. It was simply unheard of. Diana herself had gotten up much earlier than she usually did on the weekends, mostly because Akko had expressed interest in spending time together that day and so her nervous energy hadn't allowed her to sleep much longer (not that she knew _why_ she was nervous—after all, it was just Akko) and so she'd woken before her alarm to shower and dress.

They'd become pretty decent friends after they stopped the Noir Missile together. Diana would be lying if she said she didn't cherish the newfound friendship with the girl who she had formerly frowned upon. Akko was kind and had a certain way of bringing Diana out of introversion, even if the other girl was a little rough around the edges and often caused quite a bit of mishap that she herself ended up cleaning. It was always something new with Akko, something fresh and interesting, and Diana looked forward to the time they spent together, even if she sometimes had to mentally prepare herself for the unknown.

Diana had found herself unable to focus on studying and couldn't find anything else to occupy her time until Hannah and Barbara had woken as well, and so she'd decided to see if maybe Akko would like to accompany her to breakfast. The Japanese witch _was_ always saying that she missed her first meal on the weekends due to oversleeping. It would be a good way to start the day.

Besides, Saturday breakfast was generally one of the better meals on the weekly menu. They usually had fresh glazed strawberry tarts, which Diana knew were some of Akko's favorite. In the past few weeks, she'd taken to wrapping one up to give Akko later. But they were much better when they were warm and fluffy and the icing was still soft.

“Her broom?” Diana asked. One white-blonde eyebrow twitched upwards as she stared at the shorter witch. Akko had done little more than fly in a low circle, and even that was under her own watchful eye during one of the private flying lessons Diana had offered. “She can't possibly be--”

A familiar wheeze of, “Kehkehkeh,” came from somewhere unseen behind the mostly closed door. “She's such an idiot.”

Lotte's hand dropped from her face and she turned in the doorway, half-lidded blue eyes finding the source of the cackle. “Sucy, what did you do?”

“ _I_ didn't do anything,” Diana heard Sucy say. “She asked me what this was and I told her it was flying enhancement potion, I didn't know she'd believe me--”

A heavy breath of air puffed out through Diana's nostrils as she grabbed the door and pushed it open to see Sucy sitting on her bed in her sleepgown, smirking and holding a bottle of something blue.

The lavender-haired witch turned and coughed into her shoulder, still grinning all the while. She waggled the bottle for the two witches to see. “It's just a sleeping potion. I'm getting a cold.”

Diana's eyes widened. One fist clenched at her side as she glowered at Sucy. She pinched the bridge of her nose, hard. “Let me clarify, you gave her a sleep aid medication and told her she could _fly_ with it?”

Sucy rolled her shoulders in a shrug, setting the bottle down on her desk and looking entirely bemused at the very thought of it. “She asked for some, what kind of friend would I be if I said no? Besides, she's probably asleep in a hallway somewhere. She kind of chugged it. Said something about impressing--”

But Diana didn't stay to hear anymore. She whirled on a heel, storming off down the hallway at the quickest pace she could muster without breaking into a run, because running was not acceptable in the halls of Luna Nova. Ignoring the greetings of other sleepy students who were headed to the cafeteria for breakfast, she followed the exact route that she knew Akko always took to get to the yard. The brunette would always go down this one particular hallway, even though it was out of the way, because, “The statue of the little unicorn makes me really happy!”

Akko was nowhere to be found in the hallways. Nor could Diana see her flying around when she finally pushed open the heavy doors and strode outside. The bright, early morning sun warmed her skin and she likely would have stopped to enjoy it if she wasn't desperately searching for a certain accident-prone Japanese witch who had taken sleeping potion instead of a proposed “flying enhancement potion”.

Diana paced the grounds, her shoes squeaking against the dew-dropped grass as her eyes darted around. There was no one out yet, save for a couple of goblins tending to a bit of yardwork over near the New Moon Tower.

It wasn't long before a familiar object in the grass right near a classroom window made her inhale sharply and quicken her pace. The red ribbon of Akko's broom fluttered against its bristles in the gentle breeze. Her hat lay only a few feet away, crumpled in a pile of purple and red.

Akko was still nowhere to be seen. Diana huffed in confusion as she stood next to the girl's belongings and glanced around, eyes narrowing as she searched the yard for any sign of the other witch. She was starting to think the absolute worst until a breathy, rumbling noise from above snagged her attention.

Diana took a few large steps back and looked up.

High up on the sloped arch of the second story roof was Akko. She was sprawled out on her back, her arms thrown awkwardly over her chest, her mouth wide open as choking snores slid from the back of her throat.

Akko was fast asleep.

“Akko!” Diana called. The brunette didn't stir. Diana's hand went to her side only to realize she didn't have her wand—she hadn't thought it was necessary just for _breakfast—_ and she sighed in resignation, instead cupping her palm around her mouth. “AKKO!”

“Eh? … Diana? Agh!”

The brunette shot up fast, lurching off balance and sending her body tumbling down the angled roof and straight off the side.

In an instant, Diana had seized Akko's broom off the ground and had jumped on. It twitched awkwardly beneath her, used to the wild brunette and not the skilled hand of the unfamiliar blonde, before shooting into the air.

Diana was no stranger to catching Akko out of the air, but usually she was diving down while Akko was falling and _not_ the other way around, so when she reached out an arm to catch the girl and instead found herself impaled with a twisting and turning body, she let out a grunt of surprise and the two fell the remaining distance—thankfully not far—onto the soft wet grass. Akko's broom, which had fallen out of Diana's hand on impact, thumped down next to them.

The blonde witch groaned loudly, panting beneath the weight of the smaller girl on top of her. Warm breath coasted over the side of her face, followed by a weak snore.

She was asleep.

Again.

Diana felt her face reddening at the realization that she was in public, laying outside on the lawn in plain sight, with Akko sprawled out on top of her. If anyone were to see, this would _not_ be easily explained. She nudged the other girl, trying to squirm out from underneath as she stared at the closed eyes and open mouth. “Akko.”

Another snore.

“ _Akko!_ ”

Eyelids flickered slowly open, bright crimson meeting blue as an affectionate smile crept across the brunette's face. “Mmm. Diana?” Her voice was deep and laced with sleep. “What are you doing here?”

“Cleaning a mess, what else?” Diana grumbled, feeling a fresh wave of fire engulf her face at the big eyes that were gazing into her own. “Now, please, Akko. Get up. You're quite heavy.”

“Five more minutes,” came the mumbly reply, and Akko's eyes fluttered shut once more.

“ _Akko!_ ”

“Fiiine,” Akko whined.

She rolled over and Diana breathed a sigh of relief when she could finally fill her lungs all the way. Still flushed, she climbed to her feet and began swiping grass from her vest and skirt. She had a few fresh green stains on her blouse which made her a little irritated, but it was nothing she couldn't fix with a simple spell once she had her wand.

Akko lingered on the ground for a moment, blinking up at the bright morning sun and smacking her lips together before slowly turning onto all fours and pushing herself up. She wobbled on her feet and Diana's arm shot out to steady her. “Why are we outside?” she murmured. “I feel kinda funny.”

“I'm sure you do,” Diana said. “Come on, let's get you inside.” She gathered the hat and broomstick, seizing Akko around the shoulders once more when the brunette tried to walk and tripped, and began guiding her to the main doors. Akko swayed next to her, staring straight ahead and clearly struggling to keep her eyes open.

“We're supposed to hang out,” Akko said through a sleepy haze. “Let's fly, I learned some cool stuff that I want to show you. Sucy gave me this... ” Her sentence trailed off as her mouth opened in a long yawn.

Her body was leaning more on Diana's with every step until the girl's head was resting on her shoulder as she walked. Diana ducked through halls that she knew weren't likely to be occupied, praying that no one would be around to see the curious predicament and her very, very red face.

“Later, Akko,” Diana sighed. “After you get a bit of rest.”

This was not what she had in mind for her Saturday: half-carrying a barely conscious Akko through the halls of Luna Nova after finding her asleep on the roof. But it wasn't as though she could say she was _surprised_. Nothing with Akko was ever to be expected. The girl was simply unpredictable. It was altogether nerve-wracking, infuriating, endearing...

“Mmm, yeah, good idea” Akko slurred. “Let's take a nap together.”

Diana flushed.

…and extremely confusing.

 


	2. Astrology Lessons

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Diana helps Akko with Astronomy, but it's not the stars that Akko is trying to read.

**ASTROLOGY LESSONS**

* * *

 

“You know, Akko,” Diana said as she rounded the corner and caught sight of the brunette witch standing at the meeting spot they’d designated earlier in the day.  “You wouldn’t need help with Astronomy if you just paid attention in class.”

Akko rolled her eyes, shifting a massive blanket under her arm and simply grinning back at the already-lecturing blonde.  “I  _ do _ pay attention in class,” she countered.  “Just not to the lesson. So, if you’re trying to say I should be listening to  _ Professor Ursula _ , you should be more specific.”

Diana huffed, opening her mouth to retort but thinking better of it.  Arguing with Akko was like having a debate with a faerie: ridiculous, unfulfilling, and altogether pointless.  It was better to concede early. Besides, silence made Akko nervous and Diana would be lying if she said she didn’t enjoy the uncomfortable squirm the other girl did along with the dust of a blush that swept across her cheeks.

Kind of like the one she had now, which grew darker under the piercing blue eyes (which were just as capable of a lecture, in Akko’s opinion) that held the shifting red of the brunette’s.

“Um, right, anyway,” Akko mumbled, shuffling her feet nervously and pointedly looking at the goblin statue, part of which was chipped and cracked from one of her very own botched spells.  “Are you ready?”

Diana nodded, tugging her cloak tighter around her body as she followed Akko through the torch-lit hallways of Luna Nova and across the dark grounds of the yard toward the observatory.  Diana had always considered the dark shroud of night to be unnerving, but she felt herself relaxing in the presence of her friend.

“Wait,” Diana said, pulling to a sudden stop and reaching out to grasp Akko’s upper arm.  She felt a firm bicep flexing beneath her fingers and quickly dropped it, hoping the darkness hid the fire that spread through her usually pale face.  “You…  _ did _ … get permission to be out after curfew, correct?”

The task had been left specifically to Akko.  After all,  _ she _ had been the one to request the study session.  Therefore, as Diana had been sure to point out, it was Akko’s responsibility to make arrangements.

“Of course,” Akko chirped back without hesitation.  She flashed a grin, one that made the flames in Diana’s cheeks grow ever hotter, and continued walking.

They’d lucked out as far as conditions for star-studying went.  The sky was clear and cloudless, lit by a nearly full moon that cast soft beams of light through the trees of the forest, the sharp edges of Luna Nova itself, the contours of Diana’s neutral face and the pale gold of her hair—

“Pardon me.”

Diana’s voice cut through the silence and Akko startled, nearly dropping the bundle beneath her arms and having to scramble to gather it back up.

“Is there a reason you’re staring at me?” The blonde frowned.  “Is there something on my face?”

“Uh, no.  Nope. Just face.  Your face is there.  The normal one. It’s good.”

Diana raised one platinum blonde eyebrow, but said nothing.  Instead, she heaved open the heavy door to the observatory and the two trekked up the winding stairs together.  Silence pervaded, save for the echo of soles against concrete and the rhythm of lungs at work, until they emerged at the top of the tower and the moonlight flooded their world once more.

The memory of Akko pleading for her to stay slipped unbidden into Diana’s mind and she froze, the vivid image of Akko standing before her just as alive as she was now.  Convincing her to stay, to finish her studies, to continue the one-sided rivalry that persisted in Akko’s mind alone. And Akko following her to the Cavendish manor,  _ saving _ her—

“Diana?”

Akko’s soft, concerned voice cut into her thoughts.  “Are you ready?”

“Yes,” Diana answered with a nod, hugging her cloak a little tighter as the cold of their altitude bit through the cloth.  It was breezier at their height, chillier, and Diana watched as Akko’s soft hair floated around her cheeks, her bangs fluttering against her forehead.

A smirk slid across Akko’s lips.  “Cold?” she asked, settling down on the ledge and shimmying under the large blanket she’d brought along with her.  “Figured you would be.” She lifted the blanket at her side, gazing at Diana with a nervous smile.

An invitation.

Diana hesitated before taking a seat beside Akko, just far enough apart so that their legs weren’t touching, and soon relaxed under the warmth of the blanket Akko draped over her knees.  She swung her legs unconsciously against the side of the tower, leaning back as she settled into a comfort that was far from unwelcome.

A moment of quiet settled between them.  Diana could hear her breath in her throat, could taste the iron of anxiety as her heartrate quickened with her proximity to her friend.  It was ridiculous, an involuntary reaction in which her blood and muscles and nervous system all worked against her and ran rampant. Diana Cavendish prided herself on being in control at all times, of maintaining her poise and demeanor under all circumstances.

Akko, somehow… was outside the boundary of those circumstances.

She just hoped Akko couldn’t hear her pulse the way she could.  She cleared her throat. “Alright,” she began, straightening her posture as she turned her gaze skyward.  A voluntary distraction to push away her own involuntary reaction. “So, what is it you’re having difficulty with, exactly?”

“Um.”  Akko rubbed the back of her neck, smiling sheepishly.  “All of it?”

Diana sighed.  It wasn’t as though she expected another answer, it was just, well… she was hoping that, for once, Akko would have given her a little bit to go on.  “Pull out your star chart.”

She was met by a blank stare.

“By the Nine,” Diana grumbled.  She pulled her own rolled up parchment from where she’d tucked it next to her wand and spread it across their laps, careful not to press down too hard on where Akko’s legs lie beneath the blanket.  

“Your first step, aside from  _ remembering your star chart _ , should always be to find Polaris,” she instructed, forcing away the heat that flared anew from where her hands just were.

Akko nodded, obediently raising her hand and pointing to the bright star.  “There,” she said, letting her index finger remain outstretched for a lingering moment before dropping it entirely.

Diana had half expected (okay, more than half) for Akko to point out Pollux instead.  “Correct,” she said, hiding her surprise with ease beneath a trained voice. Her finger traced across the chart to find Polaris in the middle, resting in the gap between their legs.  “That was a good guess, Akko.”

Akko frowned, turning to face Diana with a huff.  Diana was vaguely aware of their knees pressing together with the movement.  “That wasn’t a  _ guess _ ,” she grumbled, clearly affronted.  “Polaris can be located by first finding Ursa Major and then tracing the pointers to Ursa Minor.  That’s easy.”

Diana narrowed her eyes, shifting once more so their legs weren’t touching and she could actually concentrate.  “I thought you said you didn’t know anything.”

“Well, I—“ Akko flushed and looked down, her hands fidgeting in her lap at the edge of the star chart.  “I know  _ some  _ things, like names and stuff.  Besides, Professor Ursula tutors me now and—“ Her open hand clamped down over her mouth.

“Pardon?”

“I mean, uh—“

“So, Professor Ursula is giving you  _ private  _ instruction, and yet you wanted me to come out, after curfew, after having to give up my monitor shift to  _ Avery  _ even though she had her own responsibilities?”  Diana’s cool blue eyes flashed. “You know I have my own studies to attend to.  I can’t be babysitting you and—“

“I wasn’t trying to—“ Akko broke in, desperate for Diana to stop her lecture.  Her face was crimson fire and she felt herself growing frustrated with how everything was playing out.  She took a deep breath and brought her voice level once more, knowing Diana would grow impatient if she became argumentative.  The heiress was much too poised for that behavior. “Professor Ursula suggested I meet with you. I have difficulty reading… certain things… and she said… well, she  _ thought _ , I guess—“

She was wringing her hands nervously together, struggling not to falter in her own words as she spoke but failing miserably nonetheless.  It was unlike Akko—confident, self-sure Akko—but Diana had this way of jumbling her words, her mind, her everything. “She said to speak to you.”

“Oh.”

The explanation seemed to ease Diana and she blinked, brows knitting together as her eyes softened.  “You could have just said that, Akko. I’m not sure why she directed you my way, though I suppose I am very proficient with the interpretation of constellation alignment and the consequential impact on certain magical properties.”  She pointed to the star chart, then turned her eyes to the sky. The moonlight glinted in her bright eyes, lit with the passion that Akko found whenever she was sharing knowledge.

“See, there?” Diana asked.  She continued without waiting for a response.  “The bright star below Polaris?” She took a moment to glance over at Akko, and, when finding the other girl staring up as well, continued.  “That’s Arcturus, the brightest star in the constellation Bootes. In the months that Arcturus is visible, the magic we use takes on different qualities that—“

“That allow for the use of more powerful spells, or magic that can’t otherwise be used during any of the other seasons,” Akko finished, nearly quoting the Astrology book to the word.  “It’s hypothesized that Arcturus contains the origin of the first Philosopher’s stone, which broke away and came to us in the form of a meteor. Without Arcturus, there would be no witches on Earth.”

Diana slowly lowered her head, her jaw tensing and rolling as she listened to Akko correctly recite everything they’d been taught.  And, if she was being honest, perhaps better than  _ she _ could have done it.  “Akko,” she started, hesitating long enough to gather her thoughts, “You don’t need any help with Astrology, do you?”

Akko looked away.  She knew she was blushing furiously, and she knew that Diana could probably see that.  Her thoughts ran rampant, much more wildly than they had throughout the day when her nerves were abound with anxiety as the hours ticked to minutes until she saw Diana.  If Akko had the guts to show Diana her marks (she didn’t, because she didn’t want the lecture), Diana would have seen that Astrology was, in fact, her best subject. And not just because Professor Ursula taught it.  Something about the stars just made sense to her, intrigued her. Maybe it was her connection with the Shiny Rod, or maybe she just had an affinity for what lie among the dark abyss of space. She didn’t know, or care.  And, sure, she did occasionally meet with Professor Ursula for a bit of tutoring, but Astrology had not been the discussion of their recent meetings. No, Akko was having trouble reading something  _ else _ , something in the ocean blue eyes of an intelligent blonde witch, something in a touch that sometimes lingered a bit longer, something in the way Diana’s lips curled into a certain smile that Akko never saw her give anybody  _ else _ .

She couldn’t read Diana Cavendish.

“No,” Akko finally said, her heart hammering painfully against her ribcage.  She was quivering a bit—from nerves, not cold—and she hoped that Diana couldn’t feel.

But, of course, Diana was aware of everything.  She always knew. And she knew especially when it came to  _ Akko _ .

Diana delicately rolled up her star chart, tied the ribbon carefully around the thick parchment, and slipped it back into her belt beside her wand holster.  She lifted the blanket and, in one swift, graceful movement, swung it around both of their shoulders until they were both wrapped up together, warmed more by the heat mingling between their bodies than anything else.

“Akko.” Diana’s voice came soft, barely above a whisper.  Their shoulders were leaned together but, for once, Diana made no move to edge away.  The involuntary reactions of her body were back, but this time… well, this time, she didn’t want them to go away.  “Akko, what is the real reason you wanted me to come out here, if I may ask?”

_ To ask if you like me _ .  Akko begged the words to come out, but they got stuck behind her teeth.   _ To ask if you like me the way I like you, to see if you feel the same as I feel when I stare at you in class or the way it feels like I have a tart stuck in my throat whenever you speak.  To ask if you feel whatever is between us, too, because sometimes I feel like I could reach into the space between us and touch it— _

“I just wanted to spend some time with you,” Akko finally choked out, her trademark confidence failing at a moment that she knew was crucial.  But she had made her choice, she had lost her bravery and leapt from where the ground was uncertain and back to the small bit of land where she knew she could stand.  So, she went on. Quietly, slowly. “The weather report said tonight would be a great night to look at the stars,” she said. “And, uh… well, I knew no one else would appreciate them, and so I thought you might like to come with me, but I also knew you probably wouldn’t unless I needed help with my studies.”

That was a lie.  Lotte loved Astronomy and would have readily come with her.  But Akko didn’t  _ want _ to spend alone time staring at the stars with Lotte.  She wanted to do it with  _ Diana _ .

And if Diana knew that much about Lotte, she made no indication.  “That’s a rather bold assumption,” Diana said after a moment, looking away and tilting her head thoughtfully to the side, as though absorbing everything Akko had just given her.  “To assume that I would only spend time with you if it was tutoring you in some way.”

Akko blinked.  She said nothing, but felt everything.  How Diana settled in a little closer, but not so close as to be, well,  _ readable _ .  She could hear the way Diana’s breath shallowed, the gentle movement of her arm as her fingers kneaded the fabric of her cloak in the way she did when she was in deep thought.

She had expected Diana to say more.  She had  _ said  _ Akko assumed they’d only hang out if it meant studying, but she hadn’t explicitly  _ said _ she’d like to hang out with Akko in any other form.  What did that mean?

Diana turned her chin up, stared at the clear sky and the stars that flickered above, at the constellations that glared down at them.  She stayed like that for a while, so long that Akko became a little worried she was falling asleep, before slowly bringing her gaze back down to meet the ruby red of Akko’s searching eyes.

“It is a very nice night,” she said, her eyes softening in that way that Akko couldn’t read as they scanned her face, lingered at her lips, and finally met her eyes, “for gazing.”

Followed by that smile.  That slow smile, where the corner of her lip tilted up ever so slightly in a way that Akko could only describe as  _ fondness _ .

_ Do you like me? _

_ Do you like me? _

_ Do you like me? _

The words were at the tip of Akko’s tongue.  Her blood burned with gathering strength, her breath hitched as she took long gulps of air.

She shot down the Noir missile on an untamable broomstick while millions of people watched.  She confronted a dragon for being a bully. She survived  _ Sucy’s dream world. _

She could do this!

Akko opened her mouth.

“Diana?”

The voice was not hers.

Both girls turned, the spell between them broken, to find a very bewildered Avery standing on the platform of the observatory, looking perplexed and out of place with a broom in one hand and a lantern in the other.  But her confusion didn’t last. It quickly morphed into composed superiority.

“And Akko?  I thought I heard voices up here.  What are you two doing up here after curfew?  You know this is against school policy. Especially you, Diana.”

“We—“ Diana’s sentence trailed off, her own confusion turning to understanding as she looked back to Akko.  That flicker of light was gone with the smile. “Akko, I thought you said you got permission to be out here after hours?”

“I, uh…” Akko’s eyes widened.  She  _ had _ forgotten to ask and, well, when Diana had inquired she figured there was no  _ way _ they’d be caught and so—

"I might have forgotten," she conceded.

Avery let out a heavy sigh.  “Diana, since it’s you, I’ll forget the whole thing.  Just get back to your rooms and  _ please _ take the monitor hall so you won’t be seen.  I don’t want to get into trouble for this. You know, you could have just told me you had a date tonight and I would have agreed a lot more readily—“

“It is  _ not _ a date,” Diana and Akko chimed in unison.

“Alright,” Avery mumbled, mounting her broomstick and hitching the lantern to the hook in the front.  “Whatever you two say.”

With a whispered, “Tia Freyre!” and a swift kick of her heels, she dipped over the edge of the observatory and disappeared.

Akko frowned, scrambling to her feet after Diana and hugging the blanket tight to her body.  Slowly, hesitantly, she lifted her eyes to meet Diana’s, waiting to be met with the lecture that she was sure to get.

But it wasn't what she expected at all.

“Next time you want to spend time with me after hours, please do not insist on doing so under the guise of studying,” Diana said quietly, not a hint of anger in her tone.

“And, please, Akko, for the love of the Nine,  _ remember to get permission _ .”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> My work PC is broken so I wrote this in my journal for something to do.


	3. The Abandoned House in Blytonbury

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Akko, Diana, and friends set out to explore an abandoned house on the edge of Blytonbury.

**THE ABANDONED HOUSE IN BLYTONBURY**

* * *

 

“Come on, Diana, pleeeease?” Akko begged, reaching across the wooden picnic table to seize Diana’s hand before she could take another bite of her crepe.  The action received nothing more than a frown, a chilling glare, and a decisive shake of the head.

“I said no, Akko,” Diana replied, gently tugging her wrist away from Akko’s grip and prodding her fork at the remains of her breakfast.

It was a beautiful spring morning—the kind that made even someone as studious as Diana unable to resist the call of warmth and the scent of nature—and the pair had ventured to Blytonbury at Akko’s insistence.  It wasn’t as though they were alone, although Diana had certainly hoped the invitation was exclusive to her, and their friends crowded around them at the picnic table outside the Last Wednesday Society as they finished the remnants of their own meals.

“I agree with Akko,” Amanda stated from where she sat next to Hannah—a little too closely for Diana’s comfort—and nodded her head in the brunette’s direction.  “It’s not like anybody is going to say anything. That place just sits there and no one even looks at it.”

“I heard it’s haunted,” Lotte said as she lowered her glass of raspberry iced tea.  A normal person would have a hint of fright to their voice, but Lotte’s tone was nothing short of excitement.  “If it is, I would absolutely  _ love _ to speak with the spirit who lives there.  Imagine what we could learn about the history of this place?  Maybe they were even around during the time of Woodward and Beatrix!”

“Or it’s the spirit of a black widow who poisoned her cheating husband to inherit the property and all his money,” Sucy cut in with a snicker, her lips curving into a smirk.  “Now  _ that _ would be cool.”

Barbara shuddered, placing her fork delicately onto her plate as she glanced warily between Sucy and Lotte.  “I think I would prefer it be a nice spirit. Not a murdering one. Either way, I’m with Diana on this one.”

“And I’m with Barbara,” Hannah said, finding her best friend’s turquoise eyes and smiling resolutely.  “I don’t want anything to do with malicious spirits. The length of Akko’s shorts today is malicious enough.”

“ _ Hey!   _ What’s wrong with my--”

Amanda sighed dramatically.  “There ain’t gonna be any bad spirits,” she mumbled with a roll of her eyes.  “And besides, if there are, you have me to protect you, babe.” She slung her arm around Hannah’s shoulder and pulled her in, earning a blush from Hannah and a warning glare from Diana.

Diana cleared her throat, pointedly setting her silverware onto her plate and pushing it away.  “It doesn’t matter what we could find in there,” she said, straightening up and glaring around the table at her eight friends.  “Exploring that property would be trespassing, which, with my understanding of civilian law, is a very serious offense. Besides—“ She paused, turning to look over her shoulder in the direction of the derelict abandoned building that lie just on the outside edge of town.  “From what I’ve seen, the foundation of the building looks completely unstable. We could be injured in the process. Plus, if Headmistress Holbrooke found out—“

“She wouldn’t!” Akko whined, hands bolting forward to seize Diana’s once more.  As pleading red eyes met cool blue, no one at the table (save for Akko, maybe) missed the cherry red hue that took hold of the Cavendish’s cheeks.  “C’mon, Diana. I bet there’s some real cool stuff in there. I bet there’s old, gross books about things you might like. You know, the boring stuff that no one else is into—“

Diana was glaring.  Akko sheepishly pulled her hand away.

“Please?” Akko whined again, holding Diana’s gaze despite a look that would have intimidated anybody else.  “I really want you to go on an adventure with me!”

The others were staring.  Jasminka had frozen with a fork full of strawberry croissant right in front of her mouth.  Even Constanze had stopped tinkering with her latest experiment.

Sucy and Amanda were smirking.

“Fine,” Diana said after a long, quiet moment that was met with a happy sigh from Akko and a few chuckles from known sources (along with a whispered, “Whipped,” from Amanda).  “But only to make sure you don’t injure yourself.”

“Yes!” Akko cheered, a grin sprouting across her face as she pumped a fist into the air, rocking the picnic table in the process and making Jasminka’s lingering croissant smash into her cheek in a smear of red.  The Russian witch swiped the cream off her cheek with the back of her hand and licked it, clearly unaffected. “Who else is in?”

“Hundred percent,” Amanda said quickly.  “Hannah, too.”

“No, I don’t want—“

“Hannah’s in.”

“Fine,” Hannah grumbled, glancing at Barbara.  “But will you pleeeease come, too?”

Barbara shook her head.  “Absolutely not. Nope. No way.  You’re all daft.”

“I’d love to come,” Lotte said, turning to Akko with a timid smile.  “I’m very curious as to whether or not there are any spirits to meet.  A house as old as that is sure to have certain artifacts that—“

“I’m in,” Sucy cut in, ignoring the frown that Lotte shot in her direction.  “That place is so old, I bet there’s a whole lot of mold and fungi growing everywhere.”

“Out,” Jasminka said.  “Cons and I have plans to go get some top secret—“

A sharp elbow from the shorter German witch made Jasminka cough and quickly change course.  “Anyway, we’re busy. But let us know if you find anything cool.”

Constanze’s dark eyebrows scrunched together as she nodded an affirmative.

“Alright, it’s settled then.”  Amanda pulled her arm from around a very morose looking Hannah and rubbed her hands together.  “Our Saturday will consist of a good amount of devious urban exploration.” Her eyes found the very displeased glare that Diana was shooting in her direction.  “And by that, I mean a wholesome learning experience involving the history of Blytonbury beneath the watchful eyes of our lord and savior, Diana Cavendish.”

And it was a very good thing that a simple look could not slit a throat, because instead of exploring an abandoned house, all three teams would have instead been cleaning up the remains of a very snarky Amanda O’Neill.

* * *

 

The house in question looked like something out of a horror film.  It was considered part of the small residency of Blytonbury, but was tucked far enough away from the town center well on the outer edges of the village.  In fact, a person would have to be pretty familiar with the town to even know it was there: it sat off one of the back roads, one that served as an alternative path to Luna Nova and really  _ wasn’t _ supposed to be used by students.  Akko, however, was not any ordinary student, and so she, Lotte, and Sucy had stumbled upon the derelict building that was hidden behind some trees near the very cemetery that Mr. Holbrooke resided.

It may have, at one time, been a very nice home.  It wasn’t large by any means, especially in comparison to the Cavendish manor, but, at two stories high, it loomed high above the heads of the six witches.  The brick was aged and dark from weathering time, with moss clinging to areas that had seen a large amount of moisture over the years. Sucy could not be stopped.  She immediately broke away from the group and wandered to the corner of the building, running her fingers over the edges of the bricks and grinning in that way she did when her mind (which Akko was, unfortunately, intimately familiar with) was up to something no one else would like.

The other five witches stood rigid.  Staring.

Two columns, one quite questionable in its stability, still held a slightly off-kilter porch roof.  Vines, healthy and sprouting bright green leaves with the warm weather of spring, wound their way around the columns and across gutters that hung and swayed, creaking, at the touch of each gentle breeze.  Some of the windows were still in-tact, even if the shutters had long since hit the ground or were barely hanging on, and those that weren’t were covered with warped boards that had been hastily nailed. One window had not been broken, nor covered, but was wide open.  A tattered curtain, once white but now grey and brown from exposure to the elements, fluttered gently around the window sill. Part of the roof was collapsed in the back, but from where they stood, Akko couldn’t tell the extent of the damage.

Amanda was the second to move.  She stepped up to the porch, treading carefully on the cracked and broken wooden steps that led to the front door, and seized a bright pink piece of paper that had been taped next to a mailbox that was hanging at an angle.

“ _ NO TRESPASSING BY REQUEST OF THE BLYTONBURY GUARD.  ALL VIOLATORS WILL BE SUBJECT TO CHARGES. _ ”

“And there we go,” Diana said, crossing her arms and huffing.  “No trespassing. Now, can we kindly go find something less dangerous to do with our day?”

“No trespassing by  _ request _ ,” Amanda asserted, grinning as she held the paper in the air.  “Not by law.”

“Yeah,” Akko echoed.  “It’s just a request, which means it’s our choice if we want to go in or not.”  She boldly stepped up after Amanda, tripping on a board that was jutting up from one of the stairs but regaining her feet with all the flourish and grace of a three-legged rhinoceros, and approached the front door.  She seized the old bronze door handle and, with dramatic flair, turned it and yanked.

Which only made her tumble backwards.  She would have fallen, though Amanda’s arm was already there and righting her without a second thought.

(And, if anyone had thought to look at a certain Cavendish, they would have seen the blush in her cheeks and her hand retreating from where it had seized her wand holster, where she’d been ready to cast a quick spell to keep Akko from injury.  But no one looked, and so Diana merely glanced around to make sure she hadn’t been seen before resuming the disapproving posture that she’d held before.)

(Not to mention they were forbidden to  _ use _ magic in Blytonbury, so as not to scare the citizens, but Diana would have reasoned that injury outweighed the need for abstinence.  And, well, there were no non-magics around to see, anyway.)

The door was locked.  Very, very locked.

“Aw, dang,” Akko groaned.  “Now what?”

“Well,” Lotte said, pointing to the open window where the curtain was resting to the side in the still air, “That window is open.”

“Yeah, but—“ Hannah started to whine, but was quickly shut off by Amanda’s boisterous energy.

“Of course!  Genius, Lotte.  Real genius. Alright, let’s go.  Han, I’ll boost you up first.”

“I am  _ not _ going in first,” Hannah all but shouted.  She stepped closer to Diana, as though her teammate would step forward in her stead.  Diana did not budge.

“Fine,” Amanda grumbled.  “Akko, then.”

Akko shrugged.  She’d already started walking down the porch steps (a little more carefully, this time) to head over to the open window.  “Okay,” she agreed, stopping by the window and hopping up a little bit to grab at the edge. She turned around with a frown.  “Amanda, can you give me a boost?”

“Sure thing—“

“I’ve got it.”

Diana took a hard step forward, her stride quick and determined as she regarded Amanda with the wave of a hand.  “No offense, O’Neill, but I think it’s wiser to have somebody with a bit of sense to go in next. Especially when Akko’s involved.”

“Offense taken—“

“What do you mean when  _ I’m  _ involved?”

“You know very well what I mean,” Diana huffed.  She came to a stop at the shorter witch’s side, glancing back at the other three—Sucy had long since disappeared, off picking mushrooms and other unknowns in the unkempt land surrounding the house—and tilted her chin in that ‘ _ What I say, goes’ _ kind of way.  “Besides, Amanda is taller.  She can boost Lotte and Hannah in.”

Amanda rolled her eyes.  “I’m sure that’s the  _ exact _ reason,” she mumbled, though only Hannah could hear and Amanda let out a loud, “Oof!” as an elbow struck her side.

“I can’t believe I’m doing this,” Diana groaned as she took Akko’s offered knee and boosted her up to the window sill.  Akko grabbed hold of the curtain but, upon realizing that this was not the most stable hold to grab, quickly scrambled for the brick instead.  Diana swayed under her weight, one hand shooting up to grab Akko’s bare thigh to steady her. Her face quickly grew red. It was from the effort of lifting the other girl, of course.

“Alright,” Akko’s muffled voice came from inside the house.  “I’m in— _ Whoa!  _ This is  _ so _ cool!”

“Very good,” Diana shouted from outside the window.  “Now assist me, please.”

Lotte glanced at Amanda.  “You should give Diana a boost.”

“Right, right,” Amanda agreed.  She walked over and grabbed Diana around the waist, lifting her up to Akko’s waiting hands.

“Pardon me!” Diana shrieked when Amanda’s hand went somewhere  _ very _ inappropriate.  “If you wouldn’t mind, I’d appreciate you getting your filthy hands off my—“

But her sentence went unfinished as Akko grabbed her wrist and tugged.  The squirming, complaining Cavendish hurtled through the window and into the house, a loud thud confirming that she landed on something soft, something giggling.  Something Akko.

* * *

 

Amanda dusted off her hands and turned back to the other two, the grin on her face spreading ever wider.  “Alright,” she whispered, winking in a way that made Hannah draw a quick breath of air. “Let’s get out of here.”

“Wait, what?”  Lotte cocked her head to the side.  “I thought we were going to—“

“No way,” Amanda said.  “We finally got these two alone.  Besides, I don’t want to go in that nasty place.  I’ll get all filthy and Han and I have a date later.”

The sigh of relief that came from Hannah’s lips was so loud that even Sucy came back around from other side of the house with a quizzical look on her face, a dirty fistful of mushrooms, and a, “What’s going on?”

“By the Nine,” Lotte replied, grinning and hiding a girlish shriek behind her hand.  “Amanda,  _ you’re  _ the genius.  Getting them all alone in an abandoned house.  Oh my gosh, it’s  _ so _ romantic, it’s like from Night Fall 177 when—“

“Romantic, very romantic,” Sucy deadpanned, cutting Lotte off before she could start on whatever rant she was about to begin.  “Alone in a mold-infested house with rats and the threat of collapse.” She paused, her eyebrows rolling with thought as she narrowed her eyes and turned to Amanda.  “You know what, that is pretty romantic. I’d be into it.”

* * *

 

“That girl is out of control,” Diana growled as she pushed herself off Akko’s body and stood, unconsciously sticking out a hand to help Akko to her feet as well before dusting off her vest and making a disgusted face at a smear of dirt that she’d gotten on her sleeve.  “If she ever touches me like that again, I’ll—“

“Diana, look at all this!” Akko exclaimed.  She waved her hands in the air and stepped forward, her shoes squeaking on polished hardwood floor as her bright red eyes scanned the inside of the house in complete awe.

And the awe was appropriate.  It was impossible to  _ not  _ be, for the very home the two witches found themselves standing in was like something out of a turn-of-the-century movie.  Beautiful and immaculate, without a hint of dust or cobwebs. Without a hint of  _ age.   _ A few oil lanterns lit the room they stood in with a warm, cozy orange glow.  A grand piano sat in the far corner, a book of sheet music that looked like it had been purchased yesterday spread across it.  The scent of pie or something equally sweet was strong, overpowering, and Akko found her mouth watering at the smell of fresh dessert.

“By the Nine,” Diana whispered, her mouth slightly ajar as her gaze traveled from the bright white of the ornate baseboards to the beautiful mahogany dining table that had six matching chairs tucked neatly beneath.  A perfectly white couch sat against a wall with a matching white ottoman, throw pillows set neatly at each end. “This is impossible.”

“No, it’s not,” Akko said, wide-eyed as she stepped further into the room.  “It’s magic.”

Diana couldn’t disagree.  After all, they lived in a  _ world  _ of magic, how could an abandoned house that was not-so-abandoned on the inside be out of the realm of possibilities?

It wasn’t.

“It’s beautiful,” Diana said.  She stepped over to the grand piano, running her fingers delicately across the keys.  While she remained enamored with the quality of the instrument, Akko was walking around the house with a cocked head and eyes narrowed with curiosity.

“Hello?” she called out, her shoes clacking against the clean floor as she walked.  “Is anybody home?”

“This place is abandoned.”  Diana pressed gently on a key, which rang throughout the home before fading into silence.  “I don’t believe anybody occupies it.”

“But it can’t be abandoned,” Akko said from another room.  “There’s a  _ fire _ going.”

Diana followed the sound of the other girl’s voice to find that, sure enough, a cozy fire was flickering in the fireplace.  Above it was an ornate marble mantle, which held a few items. A dragon bone (Diana recognized it), a mortar and pestle, and a photograph of—

Of--

Wait.

Was that...

Her and Akko?

“Is that us?” Akko asked, stepping forward and squinting her eyes in confusion.  The photo was dark but it was certainly them, both in oversized jumpers with Diana’s arm wrapped around Akko’s waist.  They were smiling. Happy. Older?

“This is strange,” Diana stated, taking a long step back.  “A bit too strange for me, I think.” She frowned at the photograph and turned away, pinching the bridge of her nose as she strode across a perfectly clean oriental rug.  “This may be dark magic of some sort. A lure, perhaps. I’m not entirely certain that we should be here. Akko, we should probably get out--”

But Akko wasn’t listening.  Not at all. In fact, she was staring through a window--one that had been broken on the outside, Diana remembered very well, but was now in-tact and clean--at snow that was drifting slowly down against the backdrop of a grey sky.  Thick flakes fell onto what had to already be half a meter of snow on the ground.

“Diana, it’s snowing,” Akko murmured, pressing her hand against of the window and pulling it away to stare at her palm.  “Cold.” She turned, brows scrunched together as she found Diana’s curious gaze. “What’s going on?”

“I’m not sure,” Diana said once more.  “We really should go.”

“Not yet.”

There was no time for objection because Akko was already making her way up a winding staircase, her fingers trailing over a shiny, dust-free banister, her bright eyes locked on whatever lie ahead.  And so, begrudgingly, Diana followed. But not without one last look at the fire, the mantle, the photograph of the two of them.

Something was strange, that was for sure.  But it didn’t  _ feel  _ like dark magic, even though Diana had made that suggestion.  No, it was almost like a sort of deja vu except Diana knew that she had never been in a place like this before and probably wouldn’t ever be.  Right?

But the comfort of home was there.  It was there in the furniture that Diana  _ knew  _ she would have picked given the chance.  It was there in the sheet music that she recognized as one of the very few songs she learned how to play on the piano.  It was there in the scent of blueberry pie, blueberry pie that she loved making with her mother on days when the weather was poor and there was not much else to do.

It was there because… Akko was there.

And so Diana followed her up the stairs, followed her from room to room that only made her mind spin with confusion, that made her blood tingle with warmth.  A bathroom with a lovely pattern of marble flooring and a standing shower with a separate claw bathtub. A room with a collection of baubles and trinkets, which Akko paid special attention to because she was fascinated with each and every object.  A room with inlaid bookshelves, of which many titles were recognized instantly by Diana, and a gorgeous desk that was organized perfectly with a leather-bound journal open to a blank page as though somebody, her, perhaps, was about to sit down and write about the day.  About surprise snow, about baking a pie which mid-way dissolved into a flour fight, about love and laughter and… and Akko.

And the bedroom.  Oh, the bedroom. A king-sized, four-poster bed with a mattress so soft beneath Diana when she sat down that she felt like she was sitting on a cloud.  A massive painting of cherry blossoms above a humble vanity, a rocking chair in the corner with a clearly home-stitched blanket draped across it, and on the far wall--very much out of place--was the poster of Shiny Chariot that Akko had carefully hung on the wall beside her own bed in Luna Nova.

“Diana,” Akko said softly, lingering over the vanity as she picked up a tiny frame and held it in her hands.  “Diana, what… what is this place?”

Diana rose, stepping slowly to Akko’s side and struggling to ignore the pounding of her heart, and looked down at what the other girl held in her hands.  It was a small photo, framed in simple, flat silver. Diana felt her breath hitch as she stared and slowly reached forward, her body burning as hot as the fire downstairs as her fingers brushed over Akko’s, and gazed upon the two figures in the photograph.

Akko, in a stunning but simple white dress, grinning from ear-to-ear and clutching a bouquet of bright red roses.  And, at her side, Diana. Diana in her own white suit, tailored perfectly to fit her slim body, her long blonde and tea-green hair pulled neatly back into a simple ponytail that spilled over one shoulder.  On her chest, above her heart, was a boutonniere with a single crimson rose. And a brilliant smile. A smile that Diana only wore when she lay in bed late at night and thought of--

“Akko…”

Her voice came out a choked whisper.  Her head throbbed with her quickening pulse, her skin quivered with confusion and anticipation but more than anything  _ desire _ .

She hadn’t even noticed Akko had turned.  Had turned and was gazing up at her with those sparkling ruby eyes.  Scanning her face, falling on her lips in a way that Diana had never seen her look at her before.

“Diana,” Akko said, her soft fingers moving against Diana’s on the frame that they both still held.  “Diana, what… what is this? What does this mean? It’s all so… familiar, you know? And…”

“I don’t--” Her throat was dry and her words cracked as they left her lips.  “I don’t--”

“Akko?  Diana?”

The thick, suffocating scent of mold impaled both of their throats.  Akko glanced down at the photograph that once held both her and Diana but was now a water-stained, black and white picture of somebody else entirely.

“Akko?”

Footsteps on boards that creaked and moaned beneath the weight of of a person.

Diana turned.  The bed that she once sat on was no longer there.  The roof was collapsed over part of the room and the bright sun shone in through the holes, illuminating the dust particles that drifted all around them.

The comfort was gone.  The home was gone. It was nothing more than grey, dead space, space in which somebody else had once lived.  Space in which Akko and Diana had  _ never _ lived.

Diana raised her arm and coughed into her dirty sleeve, overcome by the dust and the mold and the age of the abandoned residence.

“We’re up here,” Akko called out, her voice cracking ever so slightly.  The wonder in her eyes had died to nothing more than confusion as she glanced at Diana.  She dropped the frame, leaving Diana to hold it, to stare down at the person that was not them and at the fingers that were no longer warmed by Akko’s.

Amanda coughed as she stepped into the room, waving her hand in front of her face to try to dispel the dust that she’d brought up with her rapid movement.  “Are you two alright? Geez, you’ve been gone forever. We were starting to get worried. Sucy said there’s a whole lot of black mold, we should really get out of here.”

Akko and Diana only nodded and followed Amanda through a hall where ancient boards jutted up at dangerous angles and swayed beneath their feet.  Down a flight of stairs littered with holes. Through a room that held no fireplace, only cobwebs strung through the corners and mice droppings littering a dusty floor marred only by the footsteps of Akko, Diana, and now Amanda.

“This place is an absolute dump,” Amanda grumbled as she led them to the window that they’d climbed into.  “Man, I’m gonna be coughing for days and I’ve only been in here a minute. I don’t know how you guys were in here so long.  What the hell were you  _ doing _ , anyway?”

Neither answered.  Instead, Akko and Diana shared a final, fleeting glance.  Red met blue with a single question that hung at their lips but did not go any further:

_ What was that? _

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> anyway my laptop is still bricked


End file.
